TORINO – The atrocious suspicion that devours the Juventus is that this is not a crisis, but rather a kind of slow and inexorable structural collapse. The crises are generally acute, cause more or less long periods of blackout, but never too long, and are resolved almost without a reason: all it takes is a spark and the team lights up again, returning to resemble what it was before the light would go out. Crises are parentheses in football.
Juve, two months of progressive deterioration
Juventus’ one has now lasted for two months, which in football is a geological era. But, above all, Juve didn’t have any vertical collapse: there wasn’t a match in which they struggled because all of them (apart from the one against Inter) were in balance until the end, the players don’t give the feeling of not being put effort into it nor is there a glaring problem that can therefore be readily resolved in some way. Also because, on a statistical level and with the obvious exception of the points collected, the data regarding game production are not inferior to those of when the team was clinging to Inter. Simply, in these two months Juve has dropped in level, as if they had begun to adapt to their defects and not their strengths. As if she had convinced herself that this is her value, not what it was before.
Juventus, relegation step: all the reasons for the Juventus collapse
by Domenico Marchese
The fear of losing the Champions League
In this situation of slow decline, or resigned stagnation, the fear that the final objective may vanish is appearing almost suddenly, but increasingly threatening. At the quota Champions set by Allegri (70) eleven points are missing and they seem few, but they become a lot if you consider that in the last nine days just seven have arrived. Without changes in pace, Juventus risks being sucked into positions in the standings that they never imagined they would have to occupy again: before darkness fell, the Bianconeri had a seven-point advantage over third-placed Milan and even nineteen over fifth-placed Atalanta. Today, the Rossoneri are six points above and seem unattainable and the Bergamo players, who in the meantime have slipped to sixth position, just nine points below, are marching at a completely different pace.
Exclusion from Europe brought no advantages
Together with Bologna, Juve is the only team in the top eight not to have participated in European cups, but they have not benefited from it either in terms of physical and mental freshness, or general health (injuries continue to happen) nor, above all, of progress in terms of the game, of the collective sense of the maneuver, of the complexity of the schemes. He can train carefully and thoroughly, regenerate his energy, take a whole week to prepare in detail for the next match but the effects cannot be seen in the slightest. Paradoxically, indeed, some negative ones emerge. Meanwhile, the points are the same as a year ago (with three goals scored and one conceded less), when the Bianconeri reached the semi-final of the Europa League and were heavily influenced (so they said, at least) by the coming and going of penalties. The objective improvement in working conditions has not resulted in an improvement in performance: this is the smoking gun that the anti-Allegrians wave. But it is also from here that the company’s analyzes and doubts about the management of this last two months radiate.
Szczesny: “We are Juventus, whoever can’t handle the pressure should go and play five-a-side football with friends”
by Domenico Marchese
The Italian Cup is a lifeline
The Italian Cup he is the anchor that Juve can hold on to to save the season. The previous rounds have gradually eliminated the most dangerous opponents, the double semi-final with Lazio (2 April at the Stadium and 23 April at the Olimpico, also on Tuesday) is within reach as will the opponent in the eventual final, mostly considering that Atalanta and Fiorentina could in the meantime suffer from further European efforts. Here too, in short, there are objectively ideal conditions to do a good job and it cannot be denied that Juventus is – due to traditions, economic strength, richness of the squad – the clear favorite among the four semi-finalists.
Allegri’s choices favor the Italian Cup
With the choices made on Saturday, Allegri demonstrated that he currently considers the most important cup in the championship, otherwise he would not have initially kept a cornerstone like McKennie aside or preferred Rugani to Gatti. And in addition to Vlahovic, who was disqualified, Kostic will return, whose possible recovery for last Saturday was not forced precisely to have him at his best on Tuesday, perhaps in the hope that a change of scenario will be enough to resolve the crisis, assuming that it is a crisis and not of resigned and mediocre normality.
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– 2024-04-02 13:18:30
